Poison
by brambernut
Summary: This is set after Half Blood Prince but before Deathly Hallows. It doesn't follow canon, it's simply my interpretation of what might be happening at Hogwarts whilst Harry isn't around and the impact his non-presence has on Ginny.


Author's Note: This is set AFTER Half Blood Prince but BEFORE Deathly Hallows. No it doesn't follow cannon but was my interpretation of events before DH was released. Hope you like it.

The school term had barely started and Ginny Weasley was settling into school life with a relative amount of ease. Being the youngest of seven children meant that she was used to being looked after by her older brothers, but now that Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George had all left Hogwarts, Ginny found herself alone more often, and feeling the strain of it all. Ron, of course, was still around, though he and Hermione stuck firmly by Harry's side, and considering the enormity of his quest, she didn't blame them. But it did make her feel rather left out, and evenings besides the fire with nobody but Neville really didn't make up the void Harry had left.

She was in her sixth year now, and having Harry leave right at the time she was taking her OWLS had done nothing to help her through them, though she had scraped a few As, primarily she was lucky to even pass most of them. Her attention span had shattered not knowing where he was, or what he was doing. Just thinking about the possibilities made her feel queasy, so she took out some parchment and a quill, and sat down to compose a letter.

Dear Harry,

Then she paused – what could, or should she say next? He was out trying to save the world, whilst she was here, doing virtually nothing. What interest would he have in hearing from her right then…? None, whatsoever! Tears blinded her sight as she crumpled up the parchment, and threw it angrily on the floor, managing to upset the inkpot she had been using. Dark blue swirls stained the wooden floor, though the red-haired witch no longer cared about proper decorum. She wanted to see him, hold him, touch him, smell him…what if she never saw him again?

Pushing through the portrait hole with a haste that surprised many of the Gryffindor students around her, Ginny exited the Common Room, and hastily rushed through the vast corridors the school yielded. That was the good thing about a school so big – it made it easy to get lost in when you needed to. The tears she had repressed throughout the whole of the summer, and the start of the term overpowered her, and she found herself unable to control them. Her knees buckled underneath her, and she found herself falling through the air, landing hard on the cold hard surface. Her pain threshold had increased due to her training with Harry and the others with the DA, and her more experienced state of mind and the throbbing of her knees didn't affect her as much as it ought to have.

How long she was there for she didn't know, though a tantamous number of students walked past her and did nothing but s******. Many had heard of and witnessed Harry and Ginny's relationship develop the previous year, and were jealous of the red haired witch for it. The fact that Harry was no longer around, and had broken up with her, delighted them even more.

A warm hand stroked her head and jolted her – was it him…? Had he come back to her…? Known somehow? As her vision became less groggy she saw locks of blonde hair, and a familiar face swam into focus. Moving away disgustedly, Ginny's face was a picture of contempt.

"YOU…? What are you doing here? You ought to be well away from here now – somewhere with your father maybe. That's where vermin like you belong….in Azkaban! Stay the hell away from me, Malfoy! It's thanks to you that Harry isn't here, and I swear I won't rest til you're dead if anything happens to him!" she hissed furiously, her hands inches from his throat. "Or the others….if my brother…if he's – just note that til they're all back safely and He-Who Should-Not be-Named is completely overthrown, you'll have to be on the look-out for me… Anyway, why are you even IN Hogwarts – it was down to you that Dumbledore's not here anymore! You saw to it that he died!"

Pushing a thin pale hand through his hair Malfoy turned to Ginny, his face flushed and his heart beating fast.

"I didn't think the Dark Lord would be so hard to please, and demand something so high of someone my age! I thought I was ready for it – all of it! I was wrong…I wasn't prepared to have to kill Dumbledore, and as you no doubt heard, I couldn't do it!" Malfoy confessed, frowning slightly. "He wasn't best pleased when he heard about my failure to do as he requested, and gave me another task – to follow the Order members around, and discover their whereabouts. I could hardly say no when I'd failed so miserably at the first thing he had asked of me, and he knew that I was too knowledgeable to throw out, so this was the compromise I was stuck with."

He paused for breath and felt Ginny's hot angry eyes on him, and felt obliged to continue. She had proved herself as a tough witch, and he'd never be allowed to rest til she heard the rest – as long as she allowed him to tell it! She threw him a dirty look, as in to tell him to go on. Sighing deeply, he picked up his tale from where he'd stopped.

"Following on from the events leading upto Dumbledore's untimely death, I knew I didn't belong in the Death Eaters – I couldn't work alongside them knowing that they were committing cold-hearted murders without any remorse, and for no reason other than the pure kick they got from it! Remembering the words Dumbledore had said to me, I quickly realised my only option was to plead to the Order to take me and not knowing where they were, I came here. It was against my mother's wishes, for she believed that the Dark Lord would protect me, and guide my path, and that turning traitor went against my family history, and defied all the work my father had done before me! I relinquished myself to the good side – told McGonagall everything, and warned her of the Dark Lord's plans to attack the school next."

Ginny stared at the blond haired wizard. Why…why would he do this? It was true enough that he couldn't kill Dumbledore, but did that mean he'd truly switched sides…? She didn't know, but then she no longer knew anything anymore! Throwing her hands in the air out of total frustration, she sighed heavily and sat down. Malfoy sat down besides her, and placed his hand on her arm.

"McGonagall's letting me stay in the castle but hidden away to prevent any backlash from the other students. If you need any help or just to talk – it's not like I'm going anywhere!" Malfoy said bitterly.

Ginny turned to him dazed.

"Why are you doing this…? Why do you care so much? It wasn't 3 months ago that you hated Harry and the others – me even! And now you expect me to believe you've changed!? You don't just change overnight!"

Malfoy shifted his gaze from the floor, where he had been cursing his luck to be stuck in here, to Ginny, as he focused on her words.

"Maybe that's true to some extent – I mean I won't pretend to like Potter or Weasley, and it's no secret Granger and I aren't the best of friends either, but when you're fighting a common goal, it helps to at least be civil and to support one another! So the offer still stands if you need someone!"

Hearing the mention of his name Ginny broke down. She had been doing so well until then but the yearning to speak to him was eating away at her, and here was someone willing to hear her wails and her rants.

"He's been gone for so long….I rarely get to hear from him, and I barely know what's happening anymore! The last I heard he was searching for the sixth horcrux, though he had no idea where to look for it, and were relying on lots of jaded memories, and on Dumbledore's own pensieve for clues! They found the others with no problems, and are now searching, though Death Eaters keep popping up and getting in their way a lot! Harry was severely cut on the arm, though thankfully Hermione knew the right potion to brew to aid him, and he coped with the remainder of the pain. I'm awaiting an owl actually now – I should go and verify it's turned up!"

Blushing as he removed his hand, and she got up, she turned back to him.

"Thanks for that – I really needed to talk to somebody! I- I should go now, but I promise I'll be back soon!"

He smiled faintly at her as she blushed.

"See you soon, Weasley!"

Without consciously thinking, she brushed her red lips lightly against the pale skin of his cheek, then she quickly withdrew from the place, and hurried back to the Common Room. Alone once more, Malfoy stood up and smirked – it had worked! And it was so much simpler than he could've hoped. The Dark Lord had been right about the Weasley girl…she was so naïve and so isolated right now that a simple offer of a friendly ear to hear her plight appealed greatly! It also allowed him entry into the Order's plans, and how far along Potter and co. were with their quest. All in all it had been a successful morning!


End file.
